Draft rigging



-A. H. WESTON. DRAFT RIGGING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 191B.

Patnted Mar. 7, 1922.

f I AQM UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR H. WESTON, 0F NEW YORK, N'. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE T. H. ,SYMINGTON COMPANY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

DRAFT RIGGING.

Application led July 5, 1918.

T 0 all Iwhom it4 may cowem.

Be it known that I, ARTHI'R H. IVEsToN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft Rigging; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of4 the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to draft rigging for railway1 cars, and more particularly to that type of draft rigging in which the coupler or drawbar is operatively connected to a yoke or equivalent. means kby a transversely disposed key. l

The principal object of my "invention, broadly'stated` is to' provide means, interposed between the coupler and key for maintaining a constant pressure against the adjacent portions of the said coupler and key at all times under draft strains.

Another object of the invention is to provide means on a coupler adapted to engage the coupler key and to form a bearing therefor, said means also being adapted to provide a pivotal center about which the coupler may swing.

There are many other features of my invention as will more clearly appear from the detailed description of the same when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which has been chosen to illustrate one form of the invention and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view, partially in section, illustrating a key connected coupler having my invention applied thereto, and

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical central section of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Throughout the specification and drawing like parts are designated by like reference characters.

In the drawings the center or draft sills are designated by the numerals 1, 1, the ends of the said sills are connected to the end sill 2 by .means of the angle brackets 3 and the rivets 4, the said rivets also passing through the lower portions of the end stakes 5. The combined striking casting and carry iron support 6 is also connected to the end sill by the rivets 4 and is provided with a plurality of bolts 7 for connecting thereto the carry-iron. To the face of each sill Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

Serial No. 243,355.

there is connected by means of the rivets 8 the cheek plates 9. All of the above parts may be of any Vof the well known types of construction.

The coupler l0 is provided with a transversely extending slot or opening 11 which is adapted to receive the horizontally disposed connecting key 11, The said key being Vadapted to pass through the forwardly projecting ends of the yoke 12 and through the longitudinally extending slots 13 in the cheek plates and sills. 'lhe said key may he provided with a head 14 at one end and. is maintained against displacement by means of the washer 15 and the cotter 1G located adjacent the opposite ends. The coupler 10 is provided on the inner faces of the side walls thereof with flanges 17 which surround the edges of the key slot 11 therein. The said key slot is provided on one side of and intermediate the ends thereof with a recess or an offset 18 and in rear of the recess 18 on the side of the slot provided with the recess and from a point substantially coincident with the front edge of the recess 18 on the opposite side, the slot 11 is increased in width as at 19. By this construction I provide simple and effective means which will permit the ready insertion and removal of the shim block 20 and which at the same time affords an interlocking engagement between the shim block and the coupler. as will hereinafter more fully be described. The rear walls of the slot 11 are provided with curved bearings 21 which engage the correspondingly curved portion 22 of the shim 20.

The forward face of the shim 20 is provided with a transversely extending slot or recess 23 into which the rear edge of the coupler key extends. The lateral edges of the shim 2O referably extend beyond the side ends of tlie coupler 10 so as to provide an extended bearing for the key. Intermediate its ends the shim 20 is provided with upright projections 24. The projections 24, which may extend from the upper and lower faces of the shim are adapted, in the normal position of the shim, to lie between the inner side walls of the enlarged portion 19 of the slot 11 and thereby prevent the bodily lateral movement of the said shim, that is, they afford a positive interlocking engagement between the coupler and the shim and prevent the displacement of the shim with respect to the coupler so long ,as the transversely extending key 11 l is in position. By forming the slot 11 as hereinbefore descrlbed, and Aby providing projections on the shim which, in the normal position of the shim, overlie the side edges of the slot 11, I provide a construction wherein the shim does not entirely depend upon the key for maintaining the shim in position in the coupler. I am thus enabled to ship the couplers with the shim in position.

IVhile it is believed that the manner in which the shim is inserted in or removed from the coupler is obvious from the disclosure. it may be stated that in either of these movements it is necessary to move the shim in two directions at right angles to each other, as for example. with the shim in 'the position illustrated in Fig. 1 and the coupler connecting key l1a removed. it is necessary to slide the shim forwardly longitudinally of the coupler until the projections 24 are in line with the recesses 18. and then move the shim transversely of the coupler to withdraw the shim from the enlarged portion 1Q of the slot 11a.

Having now described my invention. what `I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentis: y

1.1n a draft rigging. the combination with a slotted coupler and a slotted yoke,

of a key adapted to pass through the said slots. and a shim seated in the said coupler and adapted to engage the said key. and means formed on said shim and adapted to engage the coupler for interlockinely engaging the said shim and coupler, saidshim and coupler being provided with correspondingly curved cooperating bearing faces.

2. In a draft rigging, the combination with a coupler havin a hollow slotted shank and a slotted yoke, o a key adapted to have a pivotal connection with the said coupler, said key passing through the said coupler and yoke, and a shim seated in the said coupler and extending laterally beyond the side edges thereof, and means carried by the said shim and extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis thereof for interlockingly engaging the same to the said coupler.

3. In a draft rigging. the combination with a coupler having a key-hole slot therein and a slotted yoke, of a key for connecting said elements. and a shim interposed between said key and coupler, means carried by the shim and adapted to interlockingly connect said shim and coupler. said shim only being insertible within said coupler by a'plurality of movements at right angles to each other. 4. In a draft rigging, a slotted coupler. the said slot being wider adjacent one end than the other, the sides of the wide portion of said slot having alined notches therein. :1 shim adapted to be received in the wide portion of said slot and means on said shim to prevent the lateral movement thereof except when the said means is in alinement with the said notches, anda key passing,r through said slot and seated in the said shim.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ARTHUR H. WESTON.

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